Occupational health hazards in dental care delivery

Method: An extensive literature review was conducted using MEDLINE search targeting all peer reviewed articles using key words: ‘dentistry’ together with one of the following: occupational health, occupational disease, infectious disease, musculoskeletal pain, radiation, biomaterials, dermatitis, asthma, eye disorders, and hearing disorders. The search yielded 569 articles, but 112 were relevant and included in the study.

Result: The common occupational hazards encountered by dentists include percutaneous exposure incidents, exposure to body fluids, radiation, dental materials and noise; musculoskeletal disorders; dermatitis and respiratory disorders; eye injuries; and psychological problems. Of all these incidents, cross infection to serious infectious agents remains of particular concern posing a constant risk despite guidelines to infection control.

Conclusion: Despite guidelines to infection control in different countries, majority of dentists still do not follow those guidelines during dental practice. Continuing professional development is the mainstay in order for the dentists to minimize occupational health problems.